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SINGAPORE – A man who allegedly invaded the premises of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and defaced a statue of Mary was indicted in court on Friday (November 20).
Race Koh Jun Xian, 37, was charged with one count of criminal trespass and one count of desecrating a place of worship with the intention of insulting a religion.
According to court documents, the church was closed to the public at the time of the crime as renovation works were underway.
Despite this, the Singaporean allegedly jumped a fence around 12:30 am on November 12 and entered their facility.
Then it is said that he used blue tack to stick marbles in the statue’s eyes.
In a statement Friday morning, police said they had received a report on November 12 that the statue in the courtyard of the Catholic church on Upper Serangoon Road had been defaced.
Officers from the Ang Mo Kio Police Division were able to establish the identity of the alleged perpetrator after conducting investigations on the ground and viewing images from closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
Police arrested Koh on Wednesday.
“The police do not condone acts that insult religious harmony in places of worship of any kind in Singapore and the perpetrators will be treated harshly in accordance with the law,” police said.
According to the church’s website, Sultan Ibrahim of Johor had presented the marble statue to the church more than 70 years ago.
The website says: “This statue of Mary in this form is called ‘The Immaculate Conception of Mary.’ It shows her standing on a globe and crushing the head of a serpent under her feet, which takes its reference from the Book of Genesis 3 :fifteen.”
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the church said the statue has been restored.
On Friday, Koh told the court: “I did not do this on purpose.
“He was sincere in wanting to pray to Mother Mary. He wanted to beautify her, he did not know that this was an offense.”
Koh will be in custody at the Institute of Mental Health and his case has been postponed until December 4.
Criminals convicted of trespassing can be jailed for up to three months and fined up to $ 1,500.
Those convicted of desecrating a place of worship with the intention of insulting a religion can be imprisoned for up to five years and fined.
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